Sovran Advisors LLC Buys 10,056 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Key Points

• Sovran Advisors LLC increased its stake in Alphabet Inc. by 51.4%, acquiring an additional 10,056 shares in the second quarter, bringing its total holdings to 29,618 shares worth approximately $5.2 million.
• Alphabet's quarterly revenue of $96.43 billion exceeded expectations, with earnings per share at $2.31, surpassing the anticipated $2.12.
• The company declared a $0.21 quarterly dividend, representing a 0.3% yield, with a dividend payout ratio of 8.95%.

Sovran Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 51.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 29,618 shares of the information services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 10,056 shares during the quarter. Sovran Advisors LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $5,188,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JDM Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 10.6% during the fourth quarter. JDM Financial Group LLC now owns 593 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $113,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. NCM Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Alphabet by 2.2% in the first quarter. NCM Capital Management LLC now owns 2,802 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $438,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Private Trust Co. lifted its position in Alphabet by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Legacy Private Trust Co. now owns 9,956 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $1,766,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Faithward Advisors LLC grew its position in Alphabet by 2.5% in the first quarter. Faithward Advisors LLC now owns 2,505 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $391,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Objectivity Squared LLC grew its position in Alphabet by 0.4% in the first quarter. Objectivity Squared LLC now owns 16,342 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $2,605,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Alphabet Stock Up 1.2%

GOOG traded up $2.91 during trading on Friday, hitting $255.24. 41,503,403 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 24,489,492. The company has a quick ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The business's 50 day moving average is $210.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $181.61. Alphabet Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $142.66 and a fifty-two week high of $256.70. The stock has a market cap of $3.09 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.18, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.01.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $96.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $93.67 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 31.12% and a return on equity of 34.31%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.89 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 8th were given a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 8th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is presently 8.95%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on GOOG. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Alphabet from $200.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Piper Sandler reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $220.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Roth Capital restated a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $227.56.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In related news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 18,566 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.76, for a total transaction of $3,448,820.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 243,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,213,984. This represents a 7.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 2,778 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.00, for a total transaction of $680,610.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 17,293 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,236,785. The trade was a 13.84% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 258,088 shares of company stock worth $52,405,304 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 12.99% of the company's stock.

About Alphabet

Alphabet Inc offers various products and platforms in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia-Pacific, Canada, and Latin America. It operates through Google Services, Google Cloud, and Other Bets segments. The Google Services segment provides products and services, including ads, Android, Chrome, devices, Gmail, Google Drive, Google Maps, Google Photos, Google Play, Search, and YouTube.